Why Cold Calling Property Owners is Like Asking if Their Pipes are Leaking | Lazy Leverage #70

20 snips

Aug 29, 2025

Discover why cold calling property owners feels like asking if their pipes are leaking. The hosts discuss the stark differences in marketing strategies for property management versus timely home services. They explore innovative approaches to reduce customer acquisition costs and the unique challenges in attracting clients. From engaging webinars to understanding buyer behavior, the conversation sheds light on the complexities of property management marketing. Tune in for insights on adapting strategies and mastering communication with potential clients.

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ANECDOTE

Webinar Attendance Contrast

Peter ran monthly webinars for property owners all year and got about 20 live attendees, half employees.
A spur-of-the-moment webinar for property management owners pulled 250 live attendees with minimal promotion.

INSIGHT

Buyers Are Either Live Or Not

Property management buyers are either actively buying or not, so cold outreach rarely converts uninterested owners.
This explains why consolidators buy portfolios rather than rely on organic demand generation.

INSIGHT

Home Services Vs Home Improvement

Home services are search-driven and time-sensitive, while home improvement is demand-creation and schedulable.
Property management sits between these models, complicating standard marketing tactics.

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Why do some businesses thrive on cold outreach and educational content while others find these tactics completely ineffective?

Peter draws on his own recent experience where, despite running monthly webinars all year with heavy promotion across multiple channels, his property management company barely attracts 20 live attendees (half being employees). Meanwhile, a hastily organized webinar for his other audience of property management business owners pulled 250 attendees with minimal effort.

"You can't cold call somebody and say, 'Hey, do you have any leaky pipes?'" Jon quips, making the point that property management marketing differs from other industries. When someone needs a plumber, they need one NOW. When someone needs a property manager, they either desperately need one or they don't. There's no middle ground you can market your way into.

Next, Jon and Peter talk marketing economics. With a $45,000 lifetime value but a one-year payback period where they lose money, Peter's property management business faces unique challenges. Jon proposes radical solutions: downselling to free management forever (monetizing through maintenance fees) or creating intro offers that recover customer acquisition costs immediately.

They explore the difference between home services (search-driven, time-sensitive, skilled labor constrained) and home improvement (demand creation, higher ticket, schedulable). Property management sits awkwardly between these models, explaining why consolidators prefer acquiring 150-door portfolios over organic growth.

Finally, Jon pushes Peter toward more aggressive marketing tactics: exploding offers, upsell sequences, and the Hormozi principle that "sales create sales." While Peter worries about cheapening his brand, Jon argues he's nowhere near that danger zone.

Understanding your industry's fundamental dynamics matters more than copying tactics from other sectors. The real work of leadership is setting and showing the standard, whether that's in marketing strategy or morning standups.

Key Topics:
(04:34) Why Companies Acquire vs Grow Organically
(17:23) The 3% Buyer's Pyramid Problem
(25:05) Free Management Forever Downselling Strategy
(32:05) The Power of Enriched Data Collection
(36:50) Hormozi's "Sales Create Sales" Philosophy
(42:55) Setting Standards as Leadership